My translation
On March the 3rd, in Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region (commonly called Xinjiang) a high level official confirmed for the first time that a few residents of Xinjiang have already crossed the areas borders to join the extremist group “ The Islamic State” (ISIS).
Xinjiang’s party secretary and Xin Jiang’s senior leader Zhang Chunxian said: “A few Xinjiang residents have already crossed the border illegally. The Islamic countries radical organization international influence continues to grow, and Xinjiang is also being affected.
From what we understand, ISIS already occupies the majority of east Syria, and north and eastern Iraq, where they continually carry out acts of terrorism, for example the recent kidnapping of Japanese hostages. This is an enormous threat for all countries, and we need to unite internationally and fight against it. Xinjiang has been deeply affected by religious extremism which has led to it and neighboring areas suffering terrorist attacks over the last few years. Last year, the Chinese government apprehend several people attempting to cross the border in order to join terrorist and extremist groups.
“In Xinjiang, in North Hetian, a few people have already felt the effects of radical extremist groups”, a county Councillor points out, “but the measures we are taking to eliminate religious extremism can control this new situation.
Xinjiang is continuously making efforts to eliminate religious extremism, when extremists fight back, Xinjiang has continued to pay a great price. The Chinese government has also do a huge amount of work in the area in order to ensure societies stability. However, the efforts need to continue as the current situation does not look good.
The head of Xinjiang’s Islamic research centre said, there are over one hundred and twenty thousand Muslims in Xinjiang, and they make up 52% of China’s Muslims. Getting them to walk the right path, far away from extremism is a matter of national security. In Xinjiang, overall, the situation is stable and under control. However terrorist activity continues to grow in the area in response to the international situation. We believe the terrorist attacks terrorism and extremism will decrease as a result of the government’s efforts to combat it.
At the same time, the head of Xinjiang’s Islamic research centre emphasizes, it is also extremely important to increase teaching of Mandarin in Xinjiang’s rural areas, understanding Mandarin can help them connect more with society, and increase employment opportunity, when you don’t isolate yourself, it is difficult to be controlled by terrorists.